Exploring children's perceptions of scientists through drawing and interviews

This study aimed to explore Greek children's perceptions of scientists and their activities through drawings and semi -structured interviews. Participants were 110 boys and girls aged 9 to 11 years old. They were asked to draw a scientist in his/her workplace. In a next step, thirty boys and girls of the initial sample participated in individual, semi-structured interviews attempting to capture a better understanding of children's perceptions of scientists. The analysis of drawings revealed children's fairly stereotypic images of scientists and significant gender differences, while children's interviews showed less stereotypic and more positive perceptions about scientists. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu